Quiet Beauty, Roaring Beast
by Jimli
Summary: Beauty and the Beast theme, set in the "real world". Lily, an average woman on her own, finds a bleeding monster in an alleyway. Sympathetic, she takes him home and finds herself caught up in the mystery surrounding him and the strange collar he wears, even as a relationship develops between them. When Dante appears later, he suspects there's more to this monster than it seems. OC.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: **Okay, so I put the rating at M, mostly because of the implications, but there are no lemons, or explicit scenes of violence in any of the chapters. There is a het pairing, although I'll leave it a surprise, but no homo pairing. In a later chapter, there will be the rape scene mentioned in this chapter. Again, not particularly explicit, but for sensitive readers, I'll try to have a "jump-to" point, so that you can enjoy the story without missing any plot points._

_Naturally, I don't own any of the Devil May Cry stuff (more's the pity)._

_This story is completely written, and it will consist of six chapters in total. If you notice any mistakes or have questions, drop me a line. Please review, even if you hate it; I could use a good laugh at flames and trolls. ;P_

**Quiet Beauty, Roaring Beast**

_*A Devil May Cry fanfic version of "Beauty and the Beast"; "real world" AU, standard disclaimers about ownership, although if Capcom wanted to sell me the rights, I have some really good ideas for DMC 5... ;P*_

She found him in an alleyway, seemingly broken and bleeding, and not far from the alleyway where she herself had been found broken and bleeding to death only a year or so ago. The verisimilitude alone had been enough to send her rushing to his side, and had been enough to keep her there even once she saw that he was definitely not human. She paused only a moment at that revelation, but as he collapsed, she caught him, yoking her shoulders under his arm. He struggled, roaring and hissing at her. She frowned, and determinedly whispered, "I'm trying to help, don't make this harder. You're bigger than I am."

He seemed to understand, or maybe he was just too weak to fight any more, she couldn't really tell. Luckily, her apartment wasn't too far away, and she managed to get him to the third floor. _As late as it is, at least I don't have to worry about the neighbors seeing me dragging a monster home. _She grimaced at that thought, wondering if her neighbors' reactions or the mental phrasing she'd used bothered her more.

She propped him gently against the wall so she could fish her keys out of her purse. He was standing a little better, and didn't seem to be bleeding quite as much. She belatedly thought of the potential blood trail they'd left, but shrugged it off. Glancing down the hall at the ragged and stained 'rug', she had to grin to herself - no one would notice a few more spots or dribbles anyway. She unlocked her door and helped him inside, belatedly (again) wondering if inviting him into her home was such a good idea after all. She shrugged (again), dismissing the thought as moot.

"Lady!" she called as loudly as she could, which was really just a hoarse whisper, but her cat appeared anyway, being used to her mistress' lack of voice. She had gotten the cat just after the incident, partly to stave off loneliness and partly to stave off despair. She'd been drawn to the kitten because of its story; it had been a rescue kitten, much abused according to the vet at the shelter, and it had mismatched eyes.

"I don't think she's blind in that right eye, but it does have significant enough damage to cause heterochromia." The shelter vet had said. She'd laughed, a sort of coarse wheezing, causing the vet to turn a puzzled smile at her.

"I love it! I'll take her and call her 'Lady'." She'd grinned at the joke, but the vet obviously didn't get the reference. _Must not play many video games, then again, he doesn't seem the _Devil May Cry_ type anyway._

Two very different hisses broke into her stray thoughts: Lady and her new friend were staring at each other menacingly. She frowned. "Lady, be nice. The poor thing's been through enough tonight, can't you see he's hurt?"

She looked up at him, noticing he didn't seem very hurt at all, anymore. She started to worry inwardly, maybe this _was_ a bad idea, when Lady abruptly turned around, sticking both her nose and tail high in the air, as if saying 'whatever' to the whole situation. _What the hell, if the cat's not bothered, I shouldn't be either. _She smiled at her guest.

"Would you like to get cleaned up? Eat? Drink? Sleep?" He looked at her sharply at first, growling low, but stopped after a moment. She was having a hard time deciding whether or not he even understood her. True, he seemed feral, but bestial? He responded a little too well not to have intelligence. _Maybe he's foreign..._ She laughed out loud at that thought, foreign indeed! Her laughter startled him, restarting his low growling, but she waved her hand, trying to reassure him. "I was just wondering if you understood, or if you were foreign, but I guess that you are definitely that." She reached for his hand. "Come on, I'll show you the bathroom; we'll see how bad your wounds are."

In her bathroom, he had his first incident. A large mirror hung over the sink, and when the lights came on, he screeched and punched it. The mirror spiderwebbed but didn't fall, luckily.

"What the hell are you doing?" She 'screamed' at him. He took a swipe at her with a clawed hand, but pulled back at last moment, missing her face by fractions of an inch. Small fractions, in few numbers. Her eyes wide, finally realizing just what was standing in her bathroom, she backed up, knees colliding with the toilet. She thumped on the toilet rather gracelessly, watching the monster in front of her. He looked at his hand, then at her.

"All I was trying to do was help. Please don't hurt me for that." Tears trickled down her face. He reached for her, slowly, tracing his finger down the track the tears had left and then made a strange keening sound. Puzzled, she slowly stood up in front of him. He was very near her and made no move to back away. Feeling more-than-a-little uncomfortable at his nearness, and for some reason feeling very aware of his maleness, she skirted to the left.

"Okay, so I think we learned a valuable lesson - you don't like mirrors, yeah? No more mirrors. Not too fond of them myself now that I'm not the fairest one of all. How about we check you for injuries, okay?" She nodded questioningly and grabbed a washcloth off the shelf when he didn't respond. She cocked her head.

"Are you wearing clothes?" She asked, more to herself, really, than to him. Shaking her head, she reached around him towards the sink to wet the towel. Cleaning him up went rather uneventfully after that, mostly because after she got the washcloth wet, he took it from her and started wiping at himself with it.

"Okay, so you do understand. How about I fix something to eat? I just got off work, and usually eat now anyways."

Half an hour later, he came into the kitchen and sat down in a chair.

"Hope you like frozen pizza and tomato soup, 'cause that's about all I have right now." She smiled cheerfully, placing a mug of soup and a plate with half the pizza on it in front of him. He grinned, a feral, rather frightening sight, really, and tore into the meal with vigor, but no manners. Her smile faltered a little, but she sat down to her food without comment.

Lady hopped onto the table, miffed that she wasn't being fed, and sniffed at his mug. He growled at her, swiping the mug out of reach. The cat, startled, jumped back, bristling all over before turning her back on him, as if trying to regain her lost dignity and composure.

"I'm sorry, Lady, I'll get you a bowl of warm milk, okay?" Placated, Lady sat on the table, bathing.

"So, my cat's Lady. My name's Lily. I kind of get the idea that you can talk even less than I can, so I'm trying to figure out what to call you." She looked at him. "Can't tell me your name, huh?" He made a cry, soft, almost sad in quality. She nodded.

"Didn't think so. So, what to call you?" He had become agitated, pulling at something around his neck. She frowned.

"Hey, don't hurt yourself. What is it?" Coming around the table, she pushed his hands away from whatever he was clawing at. It looked like a necklace resting on his collarbone. It was some kind of black metal carved with some strange-looking runes or ideograms that seemed to be glowing, or at least part of them were. The symbols went all the way around the collar, but only a few of them on the right-hand side were glowing with a dark, somehow bruised-looking light. One word, written in what appeared to be English, was carved above the runes in the center: DIAVOLO. Those letters, too, glowed, but with an evil-looking dull orange.

" 'Dee-ah-voh-loh'? What's that mean? Is that your name?" He made the same keening noise that he had in the bathroom. She frowned again.

"I'm sorry that I don't understand you. Can I call you that? Diavolo?" She smiled. "It's kind of nice, the way it rolls off the tongue, Diavolo. Don't you think?" He looked up into her smile and grinned in that same scary way he had before. She pulled back a little. "I'll just take that as a yes, yeah?"

She yawned. "I'm kind of tired, and I need to go shopping tomorrow, so how about I get you a pillow and blanket. You can sleep on the couch. The lamp there is a touch one, so it's easy to turn off. Don't worry about Lady, she won't bother you. Do you remember where the bathroom is?" He grinned again. She nodded, left, and returned a few minutes later with two blankets and a pillow. One blanket she spread over the couch and placed the pillow at the end. The other, she spread over the first, only to fold it back a little, making a homey, if homely, bed on the couch. "Well, good night, Diavolo." She told him, making her way to her bedroom, pausing just long enough to scoop up Lady and close the door.

She heard noises and, forgetting at first about her new friend, she froze, various paranoid and somewhat morbid possibilities running rampant through her mind. One particular keening reminded her of him, and she grabbed a quick covering before slowly opening her bedroom door. Straining to see in the darker living room, she tried to tell if he were okay or not. He looked to be still asleep. _Is he having a bad dream or something?_ She stepped deeper into the room, her eyes slowly adjusting. A quick look-over of his form on the couch answered her question. Eyes widening, she mentally shook herself._ Not a bad dream, then._ She thought. He was erect and going through the motions of correcting that issue. She backed up slowly, not wanting to disturb his privacy any further. She bumped her door, making a small noise that was just enough to wake him. She looked away, embarrassed.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wake you, I was just, you were making noises, and I thought you needed something, or were,... I'm sorry." She glanced back up with a smile, only to find him standing abruptly in front of her. _God, he's tall. He's still aroused, too. _He started sniffing her, as though only now realizing that she was the opposite gender. She backed up again, more than a little unsure of what to do. He reached for her gently, growling very low, almost like a purr. He pressed her body to his, kissing her. She could feel, well, everything, and she figured she knew where this was going. Brief flashes of memories skittered through her brain...

_It was late, not really more so than usual, and yet there was an unusual feeling in the air. She was very uneasy, and wanted to be safely at home; to that end, she cut through an alley that would save her a block or two. But we often meet our destiny on the road we take to avoid it..._

She pulled away from him, scared, maybe of him, maybe of the memories of that night. Had she thought she was over it? Well, the news van just pulled up and reported otherwise. He growled, irritated, and reached for her again. She ducked, crying.

"Please, please don't hurt me. I've, I've already been raped before..." She trailed off, the absurdity of the argument hitting her. _You can't rape me, because no one gets raped more than once, that's a rule, right? _She shook her head, then lifted her chin, pointing at the mangled scar across her throat.

"I have a scarf collection to hide it most times, but I got this about a year ago. Souvenir from my last rapists. Good thing they did a lousy job, didn't kill me, just destroyed my voice box. Almost bled out, though. A nerd coming back from the bar found me, saved my life." She jabbed another finger at it. "Don't recommend that to anyone."

His eyes followed her finger movements, then returned to her face. He purred again, petting her head gently before leaning in to kiss her again. She blinked in disbelief. He was strangely reassuring, and she relaxed because of it.

He continued kissing her, lifting her chin, not for her mouth, but to kiss and lave the scar. _Compassion? What kind of monster is this guy?_ She closed her eyes, enjoying the attention he was giving her. He looped an arm under her behind, effortlessly picking her up. His mouth found hers again, and somehow, they were on her bed, with him on top. He was a little rough with her, and demanding in his need, but he didn't hurt her, not even when he penetrated her. A little slice of ecstasy later, she murmured, "That was wonderful, Diavolo," just before falling asleep in his arms.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: **__By the way, there are a few fairy tale references sprinkled throughout the chapters. Chapter one only has one, I believe. There aren't any this chapter, but there are two lines from two other books. At the end of the story, I'll list all the Easter eggs, for those who are curious. ;P_

**Chapter 2**

_Again, I don't own, well, anything but my plot, (and that's probably a barely) and my OCs. Alas and alack... :)_

In the morning, he had his second incident, this time the unfortunate victim being one of her Devil May Cry posters. The ripping sounds woke her up.

"What the...? No! NO! Not Dante!" She jumped up, trying to push him away, but it was far too late. "Judas Priest! Okay, mirrors I can tolerate, but Dante?! Ohhh, what'd he ever do to you, Diavolo?" She despondently picked up the pieces, before giving it up as a lost cause.

"Tell you what, Diavolo, if you want to rip up one of my posters, how about the Twilight one my sister sent as a gag gift, huh? Into little itty-bitty bits, if you like." He was watching her, not having moved since she'd swatted him away. He looked at the other pictures of the red-clad devil hunter and hissed menacingly before grabbing her, almost possessively, all the while glaring frozen daggers at the handsome devil in the picture.

"Huh? Are you jealous? That's ridiculous. He's not even real, much to my personal disappointment." He snapped his attention back to her, growling before kissing her mouth roughly. She frowned at him, puzzled and slightly suspicious.

"Look, if it bothers you, I'll take him down, okay? Put him somewhere safe and dark, where you don't have to see, yeah?" She reached for the nearest poster to demonstrate, but he just growled, swatting her hand away.

"So, I can't touch, or I don't have to?" He growled again, stepping over the pieces in the floor as he headed towards the bathroom. She ran her hand through her hair, sighing as she retrieved poor Dante from the carpet. _Maybe I can tape the back or something._

Lady wandered in from the living room and imperiously sat down on the largest piece still in the floor. She meowed rather loudly, and batted at Lily's hand as she reached for another piece.

"What, now you're picking on the poor guy too? I guess I shouldn't be surprised, huh, Lady?" After scooping up her cat (and retrieving the last poster piece from under her), she went to the kitchen to get some food for the three of them.

When he wandered into the kitchen, she set a plate of eggs and bacon in front of him. "Here, breakfast. I'm going to shower, then I need to go shopping. You need to stay here, and I want you and Lady to behave yourselves, yeah? No more destruction, please?" She looked at him, really seeing him for the first time in proper lighting.

He was a deep, dark color, not black, like she'd first thought, but a purple maybe? Blue? Maybe an indigo? She'd vaguely noticed something a little odd about his skin last night, and the morning light revealed that he was actually covered in smallish scales. They were pebbly, kind of like a snake or lizard, although they had felt soft and smooth. The way that they caught the light made it even harder to tell his color. Sometimes they looked black, purple, turquoise, red, even green.

He was essentially humanoid, with clawed hands and feet, although he only had three toes on each foot. He had wings, rich and deep in color, great leathery things, not like any animal design that she could recall. He was well-muscled, but lithe, and though she knew that he was well-endowed, his crotch was now smooth, although not flat. She frowned, promising to puzzle over that later.

His face was human enough, except for the color and the fine scales, but his eyes... Did he not have irises and pupils, or were they just glowing too much to be seen clearly? His eyes definitely had a light blue glow that was tinged red on the edges, but there were no purple transitions.

He had horns, wide at the bases just above his temples twisting to points. He even had hair, sort of; it was like very soft spikes or quills and bone white.

He felt her looking at him, looking up from eating to study her face. What he thought or saw, she couldn't discern, and shaking her head, she smiled.

"Shower." She said, pointing to herself. He grinned, then resumed eating.

She spent her time in the shower reflecting on everything that had happened last night. _I must be crazy. Rescuing a monster?_ She frowned. _Now that I've seen him in daylight, he actually looks like a __demon__. _She snorted laughter._ Maybe that's why he hates Dante, 'cause Dante's __real__, and kills guys like Diavolo. Still, rescuing a demon? Taking him home? Sleeping with him? Good gods, they used to burn people at the stake for that sort of thing. But, but he was so sweet, in a way. Gentle, almost. Felt more at ease letting him touch me than that useless boyfriend I had. _She grimaced, remembering the tactless, insensitive argument Evan had given her when she still didn't feel right about sleeping with him after her rape in the alley. _'Come on, baby, you can't tell me you're waiting for the right moment now, not when your precious cherry's been popped.' _That wasn't the only thing popped. He'd even brought up charges against her for blackening his eye and dislocating his jaw. A friend of his talked him into dropping them, she'd later heard. _Maybe he shouldn't have lipped off while a had my good frying pan in my hand. Damn jerk ruined my best pan, too. _She sighed, turning off the water and stepping out to dry off. _Oh well, "there'll be water if God wills it", right?_ She got dressed, grabbed her list from the kitchen and paused. She grabbed the remote, turned on her TV, and handed the remote to her new demon friend, showing him how to work it. He snorted, scowling at her. _What's he thinking now?_ She shook her head again and left for the store.

On a whim as she was returning from the store, she went through the alley where she'd found him. There was blood on the ground, _His? _and a few odd looking...bits of...things, but not much else. No real sign of where he'd come from, how he'd ended up in the shape she'd found him, nothing. _If this were a movie, I'd be complaining that he'd fallen through a plot-hole into the alley._ She grinned at herself, taking one more cursory look before leaving.

When she reached her apartment, she was half afraid to find it half destroyed, or possibly Lady and/or Diavolo dead, eaten, or gone, or some combination of the three. Bracing herself mentally, she unlocked the door. He was still sitting on the couch, but the TV was off again, and he had Lady by the nape of the neck - not the place where kittens are carried, she noticed though, because Lady, far from being curled up and still, was swiping and batting playfully at his reaching fingers. He looked up complacently, gently cupping the kitten's rear and releasing her neck. Lady, for her part, sat up in his hand, furiously bathing where he'd mussed her fur.

"No unpleasantness, I trust?" She whispered. He dropped the kitten onto the coffee table and came to her, his gait somewhere between stalking and sauntering. He caught her in his arms and nuzzled her neck. She pulled away after a moment and dumped a bag of groceries into his arms instead. He frowned, growling at her in that irritated fashion, but followed her to the kitchen.

She put everything away, fixed a lunch they ate mostly in silence, and washed up afterwards. The day passed uneventfully into evening, and another meal, and then relaxed into night. When she stood and yawned, turning to tell him she was headed for bed, she found him walking into her room instead. She followed and found him on his knees on the bed.

He was pushing at his crotch, but before she could even begin to wonder why, she saw his masculinity emerge. _Maybe he's like birds are, where their bird parts are internalized for streamlined flight, only maybe he's like that, for protection?_ She snorted to herself, _Protection, ha-ha, punny much?_ He slid across the bed, after extracting himself fully, watching her. She shrugged, undressed and joined him. He rested his body on hers, kissing and petting her. She briefly marveled over how comfortable she was with him, and how gentle and tender he was with her, before her thoughts became lost in their mutual pleasure.

They settled into a comfortable routine, varying only when she worked, or went shopping, until the evening she became violently ill a few months later.

She hadn't been feeling very well the night before, at work but chalked it up to Tony's atrocious "Mexican Casserole Supreme", a noxious dish if ever she'd smelled one, and seemingly worse that night. The few plates she'd delivered almost tossed her cookies for her, but she made her grimaces into reasonable facsimiles of smiles for the customers. When her shift ended, she was thankful for the walk home, hoping the fresh, well, fresher air would settle her poor stomach. It had helped, but she had still felt badly enough that both Diavolo and Lady had noticed, despite her false assurances to them both. He did not even press the issue of lovemaking, though it had long been their wont to couple every night. More unusually, she slept in that morning, though she had had intentions on shopping that day. He had obviously gotten up and had left her to sleep, she noted later. When she did wake, around lunchtime, she was hungry. She heard a frustrated roar, grabbed a stray flannel shirt, and rushed to the kitchen, panicking. She certainly wasn't prepared for what she found in there.

He was growling at her electric can opener, as though it were obstinately and purposefully denying him what he wanted. Lady was sitting on a nearby can of tomato soup, alternating between yowling at him and taking swipes at his hand. He would turn to hiss menacingly at her, then start fiddling with the can opener again. Lily admired his restraint - she would have expected him to have destroyed it in anger and irritation long before this. She giggled silently.

"Diavolo, what are you doing?" She whispered to him. Both of them looked up. Lady hopped onto the kitchen table, meowing plaintively at her, like a kid tattling on a sibling. He growled, grabbed the unfortunate appliance off the counter and dropped it into her hands. She almost giggled again, but swallowed it hastily at the dangerous look on his face. He plopped angrily into his usual seat, stewing. She put the can opener back onto the counter, plugged it back in, and opened the can of soup that Lady had been sitting on. She turned back to him with a smile, but far from being placated, he frustratedly started clawing at his collar ring.

"Hey, Diavolo! Don't, you'll hurt yourself! Let me help you get it off, if that's what you want." She came over to him and examined the ring. She frowned, seeing no clasp on it.

"How does this thing come off?" He made that soft keening noise, so sad and plaintive this time that she started. "What's wrong? Why do you have this, anyway?" He was unusually silent, just clasping her hands in his and bowing his head.

"Hey, it's okay, it's no biggie, yeah? We'll..." She frowned again. "Weren't more of those lit before?" His whole body seemed to slump at that, and she knelt in front of him.

"Diavolo, we'll figure something out, okay? We've done so well so far, yeah?" He lifted his head and looked down at her. She smiled at him just before he moved, rushing forward to catch her in a passionate, lusty kiss. _He must be making up for last night._ She thought, just before he drove all thoughts out of her head.

A little while later, he rather reluctantly moved from her body, letting her up off the floor. She rose, and then her stomach did the loop-the-loop. Clapping her hand over her mouth, she rushed to the bathroom, barely making it before her stomach's rather sparse contents spewed out. He'd followed her into the bathroom, which she would have protested, but as weak as she felt after vomiting, she was grateful for the assistance instead. She smiled faintly.

"I am so sorry. It's probably just from not eating, I guess." He growled impatiently at her, and started scenting the air. She sighed, grabbing her toothbrush and reaching for the flush handle on the toilet. He caught her hand, growling again. She was perplexed.

"Don't tell me you like that stench." He growled again, following it with a snort. He sniffed delicately towards the mess before flushing it himself. She shrugged. _He is a demon after all. Or something._ He leaned down towards her, sniffing her gently. She frowned again.

"I'll take a shower, okay?" She finished brushing the taste out of her mouth and moved towards the door. He caught her instead, a very odd look in his face and eyes. Her own eyes widened as he picked up her hand and cut the palm with a claw. She made a small noise in pain, trying to pull her hand away, but he held it fast and brought it to his mouth. He licked the blood delicately and jerked, looking at her face again. He caught her in his arms, kissing and petting her almost ravenously. He scooped her up much as he had their first night together and lay her gently on their bed.

"What... Did I miss something?" She asked him, bewildered. He kissed her repeatedly working his way down to her belly, which he seemed mildly obsessed with.

"Diavolo," she tried again, sitting up as much as possible. "I know a complete explanation is out of your reach, but try, yeah?" He looked up, growling and giving his collar an irritated tug. He looked at her, staring in her eyes, then started caressing her belly again. She pondered.

"Okay, I get the impression that you don't like that collar, that maybe it keeps you from talking, even, yeah? But the sudden obsession with my stomach? Following a violent round of vomiting? I just don't..." She trailed off, recalling everything he'd done. She looked him straight in the face.

"Diavolo. Am I pregnant?" He all but pounced at her, crushing and devouring her mouth with his.

Later, she thought that that had been their sweetest lovemaking yet.


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: **__I saw that I had a "favorite story", so in a fit of elation, I decided to post the next chapter! XD_

_There are three different fairy tale references in this chapter._

_This chapter contains a bit of coarse language, is a bit short, and does kind of leave off at the end. Sorry!_

_Please review, tell me what you think, ask me questions, whatever. ;P_

_Of course, Capcom has the distinct honor and pleasure of owning Devil May Cry, not me. :{_

**Chapter 3**

It was during the last few weeks of an otherwise uneventful pregnancy, and life on a whole, that everything came crashing down. Two noteworthy things sometimes kept her awake, one good and pleasant, the other puzzling and disturbing.

She was trying to pick a name for the baby - a boy, they found out. She thought about a lot of options, some punny, some sweet, some a little of both. _Names are so important, they really __do__ have a power of their own. _She had thought about "Damon" or "Angel", or some form thereof, or calling him "Vergil" or "Nero". She figured "Dante" would not be a good choice, considering Diavolo's aversion to the devil hunter. These thoughts, though diverting, were not the ones troubling her, however. The collar ring was what kept her up more often.

In the time they'd been together, the number of glowing runes had definitely decreased, until the last one was now only barely glowing at all. She really only knew of one reason that something would fade out steadily like that: a countdown. _But a countdown to what? Is he going to turn into a pumpkin? _Her smile at that thought quickly faded, though._ What happens when the last petal falls?_ She mentally shook herself, rising ever so slowly out of bed. It was so much more difficult to do so many things, even little ones, now that she was so far along in her pregnancy, and she didn't want to disturb him, as useless as that thought would turn out to be. Predictably, he stirred, rumbling softly when she moved. She smiled.

"I just need to use the bathroom." In their time together, over a year now, she had achieved an understanding of his noises. They were far more emotive and tonal than she'd first thought. She frowned. _Are they? He seems so much more human than he had that first night._ She shook her head, knowing it was an unanswerable question; she'd been more than half afraid of him then and was more than half in love with him now. She'd changed so much in the past year, who could tell if he had, too? She finished her business but knew that sleep was going to elude her. She peeked back into their room.

"Diavolo? I thought I'd get a little air." He stirred again, getting up, but she shook her head.

"No, you'd better not, it's already predawn, you don't want to be seen." He growled, obviously not liking the idea of her going out without him. She gave a rhythmic wheezing that served as a chuckle for her.

"I'll be okay. I've been out later, or I guess earlier, than this before, right? I'll take my cell phone so you can rescue me if I need it, daylight-be-damned, yeah?" He growled again but merely kissed her and headed to the bathroom. She smiled, left some food in Lady's bowl for when the cat awoke, grabbed her cell as per her promise, and went for her walk.

In hindsight some hours later, she thought she probably should have let him come with her, daylight be damned.

Lost in her thoughts about the baby, the collar, and a hundred other less serious concerns, she meandered into her favorite park. Sitting gently on a bench for a breather, after all, carrying all that extra weight was tiring, she didn't notice them until they had her essentially surrounded. They were blatantly not human. _Oh shit._

"Your stink is extra offensive, human." _Oh shit. _They moved as a pack, malformed blade-like weapons instead of arms raised to no doubt do her extreme bodily harm. _Oh shit!_ The utterly useless thought just wouldn't quit. She flinched, knowing that pain and death were imminent and inevitable. The loud crashing of gunfire pounded her ears and she looked up to see her assailants being in turn, assailed. Her mouth dropped, eyes widened, brain refuted what was obviously in front her as the last of the hideous things shattered into dust around a huge, skull adorned claymore. The handsome man on the other end of the absurdly sized sword "sheathed" it on his back before giving her a winsome, if roguish smile.

"Hey babe, you all right?" Still gaping foolishly, she nodded. _Dante...?_ He laughed, a warm, bright sound. "What's the matter, babe, cat got your tongue?" She closed her mouth, shaking her head violently.

"No," she whispered, removing her scarf and pointing to the scar. "Sea witch, so much for being human, yeah?" His teasing smile turned serious as he walked closer to inspect the mark on her throat.

"Hmm, I'm.." He stopped abruptly, his eyes narrowing to a scary coldness that seemed somehow familiar to her. The click of the silver gun pointed at her head made her blink, and she was suddenly more afraid than she had been when the demons had shown up. _No sudden movements, Lily. Gods, did he scent Diavolo on me?_

"Those demons were half right, babe, there is something odd about your smell. Want to explain, or should I just send you back to hell?" She shook her head, trying desperately not to cry, or worse, let go her bladder (which had been none-too reliable anyway since her third trimester started) when she heard a familiar roar come from behind the man in red. He whirled, popping off innumerable shots at the new figure, who dodged them agilely.

"Diavolo." She whispered, not bothering to wonder at his appearance right then. He came between the hunter and herself, hissing and growling at "Dante", clearly protecting her from him. The white-haired man frowned, still pointing the silver and black guns at the demon.

"So what's the deal, here? Demons aren't really in the business of protecting anyone, especially not humans." She pushed gently around Diavolo, who pushed her behind himself again, growling at her and snapping open his wings as a blockade. She pushed at him.

"No, we need to go! If anyone sees you, what will happen then, huh? A fight? They'll try to take you! Then what will happen to us? Judas Priest, Diavolo! Let's go, please!" She tugged at his hand. He turned back to the crimson clad hunter, growling. The demon let her start to lead him off, his eyes never leaving his enemy's. Blinking in near-disbelief, the handsome man put away his guns and followed after the pair.

When she noticed him tailing them, she whipped around, placing her small, pregnant form defensively between the two males. The human-looking one indulged in a smile; the demonic-looking one snorted and growled at her.

"Look, I appreciate being saved and everything, but you did turn around and threaten me and my son afterwards. What makes you think I'd let you follow us home now?" He grinned.

"What makes you think you could stop me, babe?"

Diavolo growled. The man put up his hands.

"Take it easy, pal. I'm curious. I figure that your pretty thing here was jumped in the park for the same thing that I noticed about her, the difference is that I'm not really in the business of killing humans. As for you, well, you seem to have something special about you, too. Maybe something like I do. You seem similar, and somehow feel familiar to me." He frowned, and was joined in frowning by Lily, but Diavolo snorted again, taking her hand and pulling her gently homeward. Shaking his head, the fellow in red and black leather trailed after the couple.

"I would offer you something to drink, mister, but I'm kind of pooped." She smiled wanly. "If you can give me a minute, I can get you something." Diavolo growled at her, clearly unhappy about the man being there, much less her show of hospitality.

"The name's Dante, and you don't have to bother. I figure your friend there would take objection to your serving me anything but a dose of poison-laced holy water." Diavolo growled as though agreeing with his suggestion. Lily shook her head.

"He's not my friend. More like my mate, I guess." She smiled. "I guess that sounds, funny, yeah?" His words caught up to her brain. "Dante? Like, really Dante?" He grinned at her.

"So, my reputation and fame precedes me yet again. I'll bet you weren't expecting me to be this handsome, were you, babe?" A low, dangerous growl came from the kitchen, where Diavolo was emerging with a large container of orange juice and a coffee mug.

"Don't be rude, Diavolo." She looked up and smiled, touched by his offerings. She turned to Dante, still smiling.

"My name's Lily. Please help yourself to the kitchen. Diavolo, well, he...has issues with dinnerware, cups, that sort of thing." She shrugged. "I'm not sure, why, really. At first, I thought it a quirk, yeah? But it's more like he can't, even though he wants to, like with talking." Dante frowned.

"I've never heard of that before. Demons should be able to anything humans can along those lines." He smiled again, rising to go look through the kitchen.

"No alcohol, babe?" He called, head buried in the refrigerator. "I can see your abstinence being pregnant with a baby, but him?" He wandered in, holding a bottle of tomato juice.

"He can't open bottles very well." Diavolo keened at her. "I'm sorry. It's not such a big deal, yeah?"

"So tell me how this all happened." He grinned lasciviously. "Leave in the juicy parts." She blushed, and Diavolo pulled her possessively onto his lap, hissing at Dante. Lady, noticing an available place on Diavolo's shoulder, invited herself up there and made herself at home. He growled in irritation, but made no motion to remove her. Dante quirked an eyebrow, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. Lily giggled silently before turning to Dante to fulfill his request.

_It was late, not really more so than usual, and yet there was an unusual feeling in the air. She was very uneasy, and wanted to be safely at home, to that end, she cut through an alley that would save her a block or two. But we often meet our destiny on the road we take to avoid it... _


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: **__Okay, so this chapter is some flashback stuff. The rape scene is here, and as promised, I'll make a jump around point. Anyone wishing to skip the scene, read until you see *=O*, and then pick up again at *:D*. A little cutesy, I know, but should be effective._

_No references in this chapter. All reviews, questions, and comments are welcome. ;P_

**Chapter 4**

_*Of course, I still don't own much here, including the Devil May Cry stuff. *sob* ;P*_

_There were three of them, but there could have been more or less, and it wouldn't have mattered in the end. They caught her, jeering in ways she couldn't quite remember later, and the brief struggle for freedom merely got a knife put to her throat. Seriously debating the merits of "Death before dishonor" versus "Live to fight another day", she opted for the latter._

_The one behind her held one arm and the knife, her other arm pinned at almost the breaking point between their bodies._

_*=O* The one to her right was watching, holding himself, in preparation for his turn, or to get off, she couldn't tell. The one in front of her ripped her skirt upwards, tore her panties open, jerked his pants down, and proceeded to please himself with her. Soon, the one behind her was rhythmically bumping her behind. Reaching down with the hand holding her arm, he jerked at her skirt, too, tearing it. That penetration hurt more than the other, she thought. The other guy was definitely enjoying the show, slack-jawed, and jerking on himself. She was trying to keep from crying out, partly out of fear of the knife, partly out of pride - she did not want them to think she was enjoying any part of this. When each of them finished, they reached around to kiss each other, unbelievably._

_*:D* "Well that was fun, sweetheart," the first one said, "but I don't believe in sloppy seconds." That comment puzzled her, right up until he drew the knife across her throat. The three of them ran off as she grasped at her bleeding throat._

_She __still__ wasn't entirely sure why he hadn't cut her windpipe. Maybe he hadn't had the knife hard enough against her skin, maybe it simply hadn't been sharp enough. Maybe he hadn't wanted to __kill__ her, only silence her, but she just couldn't believe that. At any rate, the point would've been entirely moot if the nerdy guy hadn't just dumped his girlfriend in the bar across from the alley._

_Lily had stumbled almost to the sidewalk when she collapsed from a combination of blood loss and shock. No surprise, considering the torrent pouring between her fingers, and the steady dripping from front and back where she'd been ripped during both invasions. The nameless nerd immediately lay her down, applied his own pressure to the wound, and called 911 on his cell. She remembered none of this; the nurse told her about it in the hospital._

_"He kept saying, 'It's a good thing I decided to dump my girlfriend when I did.' " The nurse clucked happily, almost as though it were something amusing._

_Lily was thoroughly cleaned, various samples were taken as evidence, various statements were written and signed, various tests were run on her blood, and the various perpetrators were never found._

Diavolo growled at her, interrupting. She looked at him, puzzled until she noticed the time.

"Dante, would you like some lunch?" He grinned.

"Babe, I'd love some lunch. What are we having?" She grew sheepish.

"Normally, I'd let you decide, seeing as how you're a guest, but truthfully, I haven't been shopping. I think there's some ramen, leftover chicken fried rice, popcorn shrimp, and tomato soup." He grinned.

"Hey babe, that sounds great. Need some help?" Diavolo growled at him but helped Lily to her feet and followed her into the kitchen.

Between the three of them, although Diavolo's help was limited, they had a large if eclectic meal spread out. Lady, typically, investigated every thing that each of them did until Diavolo finally snatched her up by the nape and initiated their swatting game. Dante's mouth twitched and his eyebrow arched at the sight, but he said nothing and resumed helping with lunch. No one felt the need to fill the silence during lunch, for which Lily was thankful, since she knew there was still a lot more to tell Dante.

When lunch was over, Lily found a tub of frozen custard in the back of the freezer to split between them, and they adjourned back to the living room, resuming their previous seats.

"Where was I?"

"The hospital, in the aftermath. They never found them, huh?" She shook her head, and resumed the tale.

_Her boyfriend Evan, oh-so-dutiful when she was a hospitalized victim, was less-than-sympathetic about her continued decision to __not__ spend the night with him. He gave her the impression that he thought she had __deliberately__ given the gang in the alley what was actually due to him, just to spite him._

_"Come on, baby, you can't tell me you're waiting for the right moment __now__, not when your precious cherry's been popped." Red rage flooded her, and she swung the frying pan she had been washing at his insolent mouth before she realized it. It hit him at a three-quarter view, blacking his right eye and dislocating his jaw. She calmly called 911 and made him an icepack. When the EMTs arrived, he was unsuccessfully trying to scream and curse at her despite the dislocated jaw, but her anger was spent. She just felt tired. She oh-so-dutifully dumped him, wondering briefly if he'd end up with the nerd's dumped girlfriend, like in some cheesy romantic dramedy, and medics hurried him to the hospital._

_When the cops came to tell her that he was pressing charges, she wasn't surprised, but a few weeks later, when they called to tell her that the charges had been dropped, she was. He and a friend came by to gather his things, and while he was in the bathroom, his friend confided to her that he was the one who had talked Evan into dropping the charges._

_"I appealed to his ego." She nodded, knowing that that would have worked. The damage to her throat was still very sore, and it hurt her to talk._

_Days faded into weeks, and she was still occasionally beset with the screaming meemies, well, "screaming" was a strong word, of course. She decided to get a pet. She found Lady at a rescue shelter the next day, barely weaned, but full of spunk. The vet may not have gotten the joke behind Lady's name, but that didn't make her any less "Lady"-like. Lily and her new kitten got along swimmingly, settling into a very comfortable relationship. If the "screaming" meemies didn't cease altogether, well, at least she had a companion to comfort her. Then she found Diavolo in the alley..._

"A good story like that should be earning you something." Dante remarked after she had told him about the past couple of years of her life. "You left out a few details, though, babe." She frowned. _He wants me to talk more? Buzzard balls, that's more talking than I've done since I lost my voice put together!_

"What else?"

"What'd you do about the mirror?"

"Carefully removed the broken one, with his help, and put up a new one. Installed curtains he can draw if he wants."

"Did you take down the rest of your posters?" She shook her head.

"Replaced the one he tore up. Got it signed, too." Dante arched an eyebrow.

"Around Halloween, there was a convention here in town. Anime, video games, etc. They called it 'Nerd Heaven Con'. Found out Reuben Langdon was going to be there, although I don't recall why, exactly. Bought a poster like that one, it happened to be for the third game. Diavolo and I found him, and I got him to sign it for me." She grinned. "Said he'd never seen a more convincing devil cosplay." She gestured towards Diavolo. Dante laughed.

"Yeah, I bet. Did you look up 'diavolo'?" She nodded.

"It's the Italian word for 'devil'. Tried looking up those runes, too, no dice." He nodded thoughtfully, then grinned wickedly.

"Ever shower together?" She gaped at him.

"What!?" He laughed briefly, then still grinning, asked again.

"Seriously, have you showered together? Bathed? Has he ever removed clothing?" She shook her head.

"No, just what I mentioned about the second night we spent together." He nodded again.

"Where you watched him reveal himself." He grew pensive again, then glanced up at the subject of their discussion. "He seems undisturbed by our conversation, even though we're talking around him." She glanced at Diavolo, but his attention was on the other male, watching him intently. Dante narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

"You're hoping I can put this together, aren't you, friend. What makes you think I can?" Diavolo snorted, then looked at Lily, kissing her gently on the cheek before turning his attention back to Dante, who merely nodded, as if he expected that response.

"You still seem familiar, even in your habits and responses. I think you're right, friend, I should be able to figure out your little mystery, but I think you're hiding the keystone." He turned back to Lily.

"Where were you working? Are you on maternity leave?" She nodded.

"You know Johnny's? Little diner couple of blocks from here on Rose?" He nodded. "I was waitressing there until I hit my third trimester. I have paid leave until the baby's about a month old, then it's either go back to work there, or find a different job. I'm not sure what to do about it. Diavolo can try, but I'm not sure he's capable of taking care of a baby, and a babysitter? That'd go over well, yeah?" Dante nodded again.

"So, you've come to believe that he wants to be rid of that collar because it has something to do with the way he is, and that the glowing runes are a kind of countdown, like a spell timer." She nodded.

"That seems to be a valid assessment, based on what you've told me. Have you had any complications with it? Has it ever reacted to you, or anything you've done?" She frowned in thought before shaking her head. Dante nodded again, growing pensive once more.

"I have a question for you, Dante. I know the Devil May Cry games in and out. Are they true, utter bunk, partially real?" He shrugged.

"They're true enough, in general, not necessarily in all the details, and you know that the dev-." His grin and sentence were cut off by Diavolo's sudden shrieks. Dante barely caught Lily as she fell from the demon's lap. He set her down gently and turned his attention to the demon. Lady had taken off at the first scream and was now nuzzling Lily's hand, seeking reassurances that her mistress couldn't give her.

Diavolo fell to his knees, clearly in pain, grasping and clawing at his collar ring, which was now glowing all over with the same evil, dull orange with which the word "DIAVOLO" had been lit. The glow spread over the devil's body, seeming to peel away his visage to reveal a man's shape underneath. His screams became more human sounding, and Dante's eyes widened as he watched the unfortunate male. The hunter knelt, reaching for the shape he now recognized, but just before he could make contact, the glow brightened and shattered, seemingly restoring Diavolo to his familiar demonic form.

"Diavolo...?" Lily whispered. His attention snapped to her, and he hissed ferally, without any recognition at all. He took a swipe at Dante's still outreached hand, drawing blood, then darted towards the fire escape, diving through the open window, and disappearing into the evening. Dante jumped up, preparing to follow, but Lily grabbed his arm.

"What's going on? Why did he run like that? Where's he going to go?" She had burst into tears, and Dante's sense of urgency melted slightly.

"I think the timer ran out. He fought it, trying to break whatever curse he's under, but couldn't quite get it. I figure that either his trying to break it, or the curse itself may have erased his mind. If you and your son are lucky, it may just be sublimated. If you're not lucky, I'm going to make your son a bastard." He said the last grimly, obviously without any pleasure. "I'm not really looking forward to that; I hate having to kill Vergil." He shook off her hand and dove out the window, leaving Lily and Lady staring helplessly after him. _'Vergil'...? Did Dante just call Diavolo 'Vergil'?_

Lily scooped up her cat, gave her a hug, then put her back down to grab a jacket instead. She left her apartment, hoping to find her mate before his brother did.

_**A/N: **__Naturally, after she mentions finding Diavolo, she fills Dante in on their time together, but it wasn't necessary to repeat all of it to you, my readers. I assume she told it to Dante much like the first few chapters run. ;P_


	5. Chapter 5

**_A/N: _**_Okay, here's chapter 5. Some language, some violence, some snark._

_There are four direct fairy tale references, I think, in this chapter. ;P_

**Chapter 5**

_*Naturally, Devil May Cry still doesn't belong to me. But if someone wants to give it to me for Christmas, it's on the wish list! XD.*_

She decided to start in the alley where she'd first found him, more because that was one of the few places she could associate with him than out of any hope that he'd be there. He wasn't there, and she wasn't surprised. She glanced in the general direction of her apartment, trying to determine a trajectory. She guessed as "educatedly" as possible and waddled off in that direction, looking for signs that maybe he'd passed that way. She wandered very little, trying to be mindful of the general direction, if nothing else. She came up to one of the city's numerous parks, and decided to search in there.

It was getting dark, and the wind picked up a little, causing her to snuggle deeper into her jacket. She had forgotten her flashlight, but she had a penlight in her purse, so she dug it out and started shining it around. The light it gave off was pitiful in comparison to the darkness it dispelled, and somehow she felt that that was appropriate.

A noise came to her ears, and she jerked the light towards it, hoping, but it was only a stray cat. She closed her eyes, tears streaming down her face. She'd lost him. She hadn't been smart enough to figure it out, she hadn't been able to help him, and now he was gone. Gone, and was most likely going to die, or be responsible for the death of his brother, who had also only been trying to help.

She plopped down, sobbing in the odd mewling sort of way that was the only way she could. She had just wanted to help someone, someone who'd been in an uncomfortably similar situation to her own, and now... Her racking sobs turned into full blown crying, whistling, wheezing noises escaping her ravaged throat. _I've lost the love of my life, my son's father, my precious mate, and I can't even cry properly to mourn him. _Her face buried in her hands, her whole body scrunched up as small as she could get, she only passingly noticed the water running down her thighs.

Dante knew he'd lost time, both at the apartment and trying to get a signal, especially considering how fast his twin was, but it had just seemed to heartless to leave a sweet, pregnant girl without even the most pitiful of explanations. He just had to rely on his senses to track down Diavolo. Vergil. His attempt at a grin, even to himself, twisted into a grimace. Vergil. He'd almost lost track of the times he'd thought his brother was dead. The last time had seemed fairly convincing, too. He hadn't lied to the girl, the games, what he knew of them, were true enough, but severely lacking in completeness.

Running full tilt on pure instinct, he shifted directions, heading slightly left. Where was Vergil? Surely he couldn't have gotten this far ahead, right? He picked up a strong presence, not his twin's, but demonic in nature. Debating for only a moment, he turned towards it, cursing the distraction, but knowing that a devil that strong was nothing but trouble. Sure enough, he found the damned thing, in a park, apparently tormenting some poor girl.

Lily looked up at the sudden swirling glow and fully noticed her wetness. She looked down and realized what had happened just before a contraction hit her. The contraction itself wasn't necessarily anything new, her last few weeks had been sprinkled with them, but the intensity of it was.

"I thought I sensed a complication. Now I see its cause." She looked up at the voice. It was a woman, or something trying to be a woman. Humanoid, even passable as a human, except for her orange-red eyes and unearthly grace. The fact that she floated just above the ground instead of walking on it probably would have been a giveaway to the keen observer, as well. She had gossamer, insectoid wings on her back that fluttered gently, keeping her afloat.

The expression on her face, although rather serene, was somehow malevolent. _She actually looks like an overgrown fairy, more than a demon or monster. _Another contraction distracted Lily's thoughts, and when she looked back up, the woman was directly in front of her. The demoness lifted her hand and made a swirling motion that surrounded Lily in purply light. She then raised her hand, palm up, and Lily's body rose off the ground.

"So, how did you tame him, little human? A spell or charm? Perhaps simply by virtue of your virtue? Tell me, and I will ease your pain." Lily snorted. _I'll just bet._

"I don't know what you're talking about, and I'll deal with my own pain, thanks." The woman looked surprised, but merely laughed, a tinkling almost musical sound, that none-the-less raised Lily's hackles.

"You are brave and bold, but surely that would not have turned my Diavolo's head, no, there must be something else. You will tell me what you did so that I may do it." Lily's eyes widened.

"Diavolo? Your Diavolo? So, did you do it, then, the spell or curse, whatever that ring is, it's yours?" The woman laughed again.

"Yes. I thought that perhaps his inner devil would be more tractable than he was, but instead he left my hospitality before I could even employ my feminine charms on him." Her eyes narrowed dangerously. "And now that the ring finally activated, revealing him to me, I find that a common little human has somehow bound him to her instead, and stands to bear the child that should have been mine. No matter, after I find out how you did it, I will rectify the situation, retrieve my beautiful pet, and employ your charm myself. In fact, it should run smoother because of this unexpected course of events, so I'll thank you now, and promise to repay you with a death so painless that you will be relieved." She smiled, an expression that was more terrifying because of its beauty.

"So you're the evil fairy everyone always talks about in those stories. You know that you get yours in the end, yeah?"

"I intend to." The woman snarled, obviously losing her patience. She twitched her hand, causing the light to squeeze Lily painfully. "Now tell me what I want to hear!"

"I don't know what that might be, but let me guess - that Snow White's an ugly bitch, and you're the fairest in the land? That you really were invited to Aurora's birth? That the prince decided that he cared more about bra size than shoe size? Any of that close?" The demoness whipped around, searching for the insolent male who dared speak to her thus and saw Dante. He had his arms crossed in front of his chest and a ponderous expression on his face, as though figuring out what she wanted to hear was the most important question on his mind. Rage filled her face, then her expression abruptly smoothed.

"I believe I know what you would like most to hear, devil hunter. How about the sounds of battle?" He grinned.

"Baby, I thought you'd never ask." He grabbed Rebellion's handle and started to draw it when she snapped her fingers. A sickly orange light appeared and in the center of it was a struggling, roaring figure. The light faded, leaving Diavolo on the ground. He looked up and, spotting Dante, he charged at him. Dante dodged deftly, not wanting to fight, merely to stall for time. Glancing at the position the girl was in, though, he wasn't sure he could afford to play the waiting game. He went on the defensive, keeping just ahead of Dia- Verg-, hell with it, his opponent's attacks. Knowing it wouldn't really help, Dante none-the-less sent out a mental message To Whom It May Concern: _Hurry._

Satisfied that Dante was occupied, the fairy demoness turned back to the unfortunate girl in the purple light bubble.

"Now, what was it you did to earn my Diavolo's loyalty?" Lily silently gasped in pain, barely able to focus on the woman. The contractions were coming faster and lasting longer, which meant she really didn't have much time, but she was all out of options. _What the hell, lie to her with the truth._

"I, I don't know. I just found him and took him home. I fed him, tended to his injuries, gave him a place to sleep, let him play with my cat. He wanted sex, I gave him that." She winced inwardly at that, feeling as though she'd somehow cheapened their first night together, but continued her answer. "I, I just took care of him, cared for him. Killed him with kindness, I guess you'd say." The demon laughed.

"There! I knew it was nothing at all! How could a human possibly compete with all I offered him?" She frowned, wrinkling her lovely face. "However, it simply would not do for me to allow you and the child to live, of course. The bloodline's heir should only belong to me, after all. I will grant you the quick death I promised, little human." Lily's eyes widened in horror, and not a little pain. A gunshot blast concussed the air, and Lily found herself suddenly falling as the purplish light abruptly disappeared. The demoness was staring at where her hand had been moments before, and a large spectral hand caught Lily and gently put her out of immediate harm's way.

"If that's the way you feel, maybe you should start with me, bitch." A white-haired young man holding an obnoxiously large double-barreled revolver walked into Lily's view. _Nero? Wow, I guess Dante wasn't kidding about the games then. _Lily's world shrunk again, entirely focused on the next wave of contractions.

"It's about time, kid. I was beginning to think I was going to have to go fetch you."

"Shut up, old man. How many times do I have to tell you my name's Nero? I can't tell if you're deaf or senile." Nero frowned, looking at Dante's defensive maneuvering. "Why are you just pissing around with Ugly Two-Shoes? Just kill him already." Dante snorted, catching a thrown punch and using the momentum to throw the demon on the other end of it behind himself.

"No respect for your Pops, huh, kid? Typical" He turned to Lily. "Do me a favor, babe, raise that one better than this one was." Lily winced, not hearing, and cried out as yet another contraction hit her.

The demoness, angry at being maimed and then ignored, dove at the nearest victim - Lily. Nero whirled, putting a few shots into the demoness' body and rushing her, stabbing her through with his sword. She crumpled, down but not defeated, and attacked him with vigor when he withdrew the blade.

"Kid! The sword! Kill Maleficent later!" Nero looked at Red Queen, momentarily confused, then summoned a beautiful blue sheathed katana into his right hand. He chucked it carelessly over his shoulder, and reengaged the demoness in battle.

Dante flipped forward, catching the sword neatly. Holding the sheath in his left hand, he took a stance, and grasped the hilt of the katana with his right. For the second time tonight, a personal record, he sent a message To Whom It May Concern: _Work._ Just before the enraged devil reached him, Dante drew Yamato, and tossed it to his opponent.

Lily was only vaguely aware of the battling going on around her. She was trying to remember to breathe and push, but mostly all she could do was cry out in pain. She'd tried staying seated on the ground, but the pressure, pain, and discomfort were just too much. In the brief moments between contractions, she had managed to stand, using a tree as support, and was now death-gripping the tree beside her, her feet as far apart as she could get them, squatting with every contraction, trying desperately to push her son into the world. The combination of pushing and pain was causing her vision to black out, and she wondered if she was going to follow suit.

"Please, gods, somebody help me!" She 'screamed', knowing that no one would be able to hear her over all the racket that the men were making. Tears and sweat were pouring down her face, and somewhere distant, maybe Mars, she thought she heard a woman's screams fading.

"Push!" came a cool voice, followed by the feeling of cool hands on her thighs. Unquestioningly, she did so, and the baby crowned.

"Push!" The command came again and again, and every time she pushed, wanting it to be over.

"Good, one more should do it, so push!" The cool voice sounded delicious to her feverish head. She complied one last time and the baby miraculously slid out. She started to collapse, too tired to stand anymore, but a strong arm slid around her waist, easing her to the ground. Her vision cleared, and she blinked, frowning.

"Dante, where did your shirt and coat go?" Her son was cradled in the crook of the arm of the man in front of her, who smiled indulgently, removing his arm from her waist before running a slightly sticky hand through his bangs to shift them into soft spikes.

"Foolish girl. I'm not Dante."


	6. Chapter 6Epilogue

_**A/N: **__Since this is more of an epilogue than a chapter, I decided I'd post it today as well. The Author's Note at the bottom will have all the Easter eggs in it, for those who are interested. I'd really like your thoughts on the story, so drop me a review. ;P_

_Still don't own these guys, which I still think is a shame... :_

**Chapter 6/Epilogue**

_"A good story like that should be earning you something. You left out a few details, though, babe." Dante said, smiling. Lily looked up from her son._

_"Like what?" She whispered. He smirked._

_"What happened to the evil fairy?" Lily turned back to the little boy on her lap._

_"Nero killed her off, and she became the Devil Arm Maleficent." The four-year-old's eyes grew wide with delight._

_"You mean the one Daddy said was mine when I got bigger?" Lily nodded._

_"The very same." They both glanced at the matched set of butterfly swords mounted on the wall. The handles were bone white with dark orange veins lacing through them, running through the blades as well. The blades themselves looked like glass or crystal, but according to both Dante and Vergil were neither. The orange veins that ran through the swords were a vivid dark orange that pulsed when wielded. Not much more than a foot and a half in total length, Vergil had asserted that they were still a little too big for his son to start learning._

_"Yeah, it's a shame you missed the fight, Lily, I totally kicked her ass. I'll have to tell you about it sometime, Little Bro." The boy's eyes lit up._

_"Right now, Nero?"_

_"Hang on, kiddo, your mom hasn't finished this story yet." Dante interjected. "How did Vergil get restored?" He smirked again, enjoying the cleverness he had employed._

_"Yamato had been your father's sword, and it had enough value to him, and enough of his power, to help him free himself of the memory repression the ring's magic had caused. When Dante threw it to him, he caught it, and fought the spell again. That time he won, and he destroyed the collar ring." The little boy looked up at his father._

_"What did you do with Yamato?" Vergil shrugged._

_"I gave it back to Nero. I had given that sword to him long ago, just as I will give you Maleficent." Nero grinned._

_"Yeah, Mom was thrilled." Vergil smiled faintly, a faraway look in his eyes._

_"And the reason he couldn't do so many things?" Dante prompted, changing the subject. Vergil snorted._

_"You enjoy this too much, Dante." He smiled gently at his younger son. "The demoness had blocked so much of my personality trying to access my inner devil that she also blocked great portions of my humanity. Being unable to do so many things made 'Diavolo' more dependent on her, and losing my speech gave her respite from any protests I might have given her. Over all, she did not see the detriment to that much repression."_

_"Why did she think you should be with her if you didn't want to be, Daddy?" Vergil shrugged._

_"She knew my bloodline, believed me handsome, and knew I was obviously superior to Dante." Everyone laughed at Dante's expense, but it was his turn to snort._

_"Don't let him fool you, kiddo. He was already in the demon world, where she was, whereas I was here. It was just too much trouble for her to come after me when he was so easily available." Another chuckle went through the family gathered around._

_"Can I ask the next question?" Kyrie's quiet voice slipped in. "I just love hearing this story, and you haven't mentioned one of the most important details. Why didn't Dante or Nero know that Diavolo was Vergil?" Lily nodded, then looked at Vergil._

_"The magic repressed Vergil's humanity, remember?" Everyone nodded. "Well, the repression in turn corrupted the appearance of his devil form. Dante noticed his familiarity only because he knew his twin so well, but even so, he failed to fully recognize him." Lily answered. Lady-the-devil-hunter, who was holding Lady-the-cat on her lap, jumped onto the story-prompt bandwagon._

_"And his gradual change in behavior?" She asked. Lily nodded._

_"We have come to believe that our relationship was breaking down the collar's power. Love is a very powerful thing, but it is a __human__ power, and worked against the demoness' power. We wonder if the curse could have been broken given enough time, but really, who knows?" Kyrie spoke up again._

_"What was the 'countdown' for?" Dante answered her._

_"Based on what the demoness said, Verge and I think the countdown was a failsafe in case he ran off, or was taken. We're not sure if it was supposed to take as long as it did or not. It could have been that being in the human world slowed it down, or it could have been the budding romance between Lily and Vergil." He turned to his twin. "How long did she have you, anyway, Vergil?" He shook his head._

_"Not long before she gave up on convincing me and resorted to that infernal collar. If you recall, Lily mentioned that only a few runes were left when she found me, but I was with Lily for far longer than I was alone." Lily nodded again._

_"Which can only mean that for whatever reason, while we were together, the countdown slowed considerably. Anyway, when the timer ran out, it let out some sort of signal that she could use to find him. The pain and memory sublimation were probably to keep in him place once the beacon went off." Lady frowned._

_"If it was a locator, why didn't she pop up in front of 'Diavolo', instead of Lily?" Lily frowned._

_"Well, Dante said that that park is a fairly convenient access point between the demon world and the human world, but either the baby's presence threw off her tracking, or it was a really terrible coincidence. Considering how easily she was able to use the collar to summon him to her, she may not have cared how closely she appeared to him, meaning that she used the best gate, and it was just a terrible coincidence that she found me." Trish grinned wickedly as Lily finished._

_"So why __wasn't__ he wearing anything?" Lily wheezed laughter at the darkening of Vergil's countenance._

_"He actually had pants on, which is why his parts weren't exposed all the time, but she had stripped him before initiating the curse in hopes that he'd be more beholden to her, and just because she wanted him as her plaything."_

_"How did Uncle Dante know her name was Maleficent?" The four-year-old asked._

_"I didn't, I was just making a joke, because of all the other fairy tale references all around. Verge just decided to call the Devil Arm that. Do you know what her name was, Verge?" Vergil shook his head._

_"She wanted to be my mistress, so I was required to call her 'Mistress' until I lost my voice." His mouth twisted in distaste at the very idea._

_"Where did my name come from, Mommy?" Lily smiled._

_"Well, I knew your father as 'Diavolo', Italian for 'devil'. In the games, Vergil has an alternate form called 'Nelo Angelo'. I thought calling you 'Angelo', Italian for 'angel' was appropriate on multiple levels." Angelo nodded._

_"So Uncle Dante, how much of the games __are__ true?" Dante laughed._

_"Some other time, kiddo, your dad said __one__ bedtime story, remember?"_

**_A/N: _**_Well, here's the breakdown: Chapter 1, Lily refers to Snow White - the fairest one of all; Chapter 2, (lines, not references), Lily thinks there will be water if God wills it - Stephen King's Dark Tower books, Lily says "No unpleasantness, I trust?" - Megan Whalen Turner's The Thief; Chapter 3, Lily muses over Cinderella - turn into a pumpkin, and Beauty and the Beast - when the last petal falls, Lily mentions The Little Mermaid - the sea witch's deal, a voice to be human; Chapter 4 has none; Chapter 5, Dante mentions Snow White - Snow White being ugly, Sleeping Beauty - invited to Aurora's birth, Cinderella - prince paying attention to shoe size, and Sleeping Beauty (again) - "Maleficient"._

_Well, that was fun for me, I hope you enjoyed the story - let me know, huh?_

_Later, Jimli ;P_


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